Work

The formative method for adapting psychotherapy (FMAP): A community-based developmental approach to culturally adapting therapy.

Year: 2009

Type: article

Abstract: How do we culturally adapt psychotherapy for ethnic minorities? Although there has been growing interest in doing so, few therapy adaptation frameworks have been developed. The majority of these frameworks take a top-down theoretical approach to adapting psychotherapy. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a community-based developmental approach to modifying psychotherapy for ethnic minorities. The Formative Method for Adapting Psychotherapy (FMAP) is a bottom-up approach that involves collaborating with consumers to generate and support ideas for therapy adaptation. It involves 5-phases that target developing, testing, and reformulating therapy modifications. These phases include: (a) generating knowledge and collaborating with stakeholders (b) integrating generated information with theory and empirical and clinical knowledge, (c) reviewing the initial culturally adapted clinical intervention with stakeholders and revising the culturally adapted intervention, (d) testing the culturally adapted intervention, and (e) finalizing the culturally adapted intervention. Application of the FMAP is illustrated using examples from a study adapting psychotherapy for Chinese Americans, but can also be readily applied to modify therapy for other ethnic groups.

Source: Professional Psychology Research and Practice

DOI: 10.1037/a0016240

Author: Wei-Chin Hwang

Institution: Claremont McKenna College

Language: English

Topic: Counseling Practices and Supervision

Subfield: Social Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funder: National Institute of Mental Health